"That's a useless wish, Jon. I'm not encouraging you to abuse the stone's power. I can't possibly explain why I'm doing something I'm not."
"What about changing guys at random so they'd have vaginas instead of their dicks and balls? What about getting back at Karyn? What about keeping the stone secret from the rest of the family? That's messing with people without their permission!"
"Jon, the stone exists. It must somehow be natural. Who's to say whether anything you, I, or anyone else does with the stone constitutes use or abuse? Do you feel like a victim because you're now a boy?"
"What? I was always a boy!" Jon objected.
"No, and believe me, I was there. You were born a tessam. You had three legs, a tail, four tentacles, and no neck. As an adult, you'd have immersed yourself in a warm quiet pool with as many remmas and chadras as you could attract. If one of your gametes had merged with a remma gamete and a hadra gamete, and if the resulting zygote found its way into back into your hivnium, you'd have been the proud parent of remma triplets. Your grandpa, however, took all that away from you. Instead, he wished the current sexuality into existence, and that changed you into a boy. Of course you wouldn't remember any of that, but ask the stone. It'll confirm what I just told you."
Jon touched the stone and said, "I wish I knew whether grandpa really changed the world from three sexes to two." Instantly, he realized that his mother had told the truth. Then he felt cold and shaky, and he sat down to steady himself.
"Why would grandpa abuse the stone that way?" Jon asked.
"Who's to say it was abuse? Did you ever feel abused? Do you want to be a tessam again? Be truthful..."
"I don't know what to say. I'm so confused," Jon admitted.
"Well, think about it. Then think about any wishes you were considering before we started this talk. Ask yourself if any of those wishes messed with people, and whether they would have minded afterwards. And you should think carefully about keeping the stone secret, too. Anyone who knows it exists will surely try to take it from you, and who knows what mischief they'll have in mind? Dinner's in an hour. And Jon, remember that I love you, and that I'll always love you as only a mother can. I only want the best for you, and for us, and for our family. Now, are you going to be OK?"
"Yes, mom," Jon replied, then his mother left the room and Jon was alone with his thoughts. He tried to think of a wish that wouldn't mess with people without their consent.
Sure, he'd thought about getting back at various bullies, jocks, and stuck-up girls who'd embarrassed him at one time or another. But all those wishes messed with people against their will.
He thought about wishing for world peace, or an end to hunger, or a cure for cancer. But surely those wishes would affect millions of people in ways they didn't ask for.
He though about wishes like, "I wish anyone who wanted to be rich could be rich," or "I wish anyone who wanted to be beautiful could be," but wouldn't that lessen the lives of those who wished for something else? Even wishing that everyone on earth could achieve their heart's desire might have unexpected (and unwanted) consequences.
So what good was the stone? And what did constitute use and absue?
